Going back to Acts 2:47 - "Praising God, and having favour with all the people (Jerusalem as a whole was favorably impressed by what they saw respecting these followers of Christ).
And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be Saved (many were coming to the Lord).
" Note that it says: "And the Lord added to the Church daily.
" Special attention must be given to this Scripture because it reminds us that it is the Lord, not a man's program or even his invitation, which adds to the true Church.
The Lord has a way of speaking to the heart of an individual.
Jesus said, "No man can come to Me, except the Father Who has sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the Prophets, And they shall be all taught of God.
Every man therefore who has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes unto Me" (Jn.
6:44-45).
How did you come to Christ? Did you sense the Father draw you to His Son? SALVATION Look at Verse 41 of Acts, Chapter 2: "Then they who gladly received his word were baptized (some believed what Peter said, gave their hearts to God, and repented of their sins; they were then Baptized in Water): and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls (on the first Day of Pentecost, the Day the Law was given, some three thousand men died [Ex.
32:28]; on this Day of Pentecost, due to the Cross, some three thousand people were Saved).
" What this shows us is a picture of Salvation, Baptism being a physical representation of what had occurred Spiritually in their hearts.
It was only after they were Saved that they would have joined a local body of Believers.
Joining the church should be an outgrowth of genuine Salvation, not a precursor.
Folks, that's what Christianity is about - Salvation! You may be Saved without ever stepping a foot inside the door of a church, and likewise, you may attend church every Sunday of your life without ever having been truly Saved! The true Church is invisible.
RELIGION Most every congregation on this Earth contains members who are part of this true invisible Bride of Christ and those who are not.
As a church-goer, it is up to you to know which you are.
One might assume that no individual would even desire to join a local church without having first been truly Saved.
However, religious motivation can be a powerful deceiver, particularly if it is backed by a crafty leader! If you join a church prior to a confident knowledge of your own Salvation and prior to a personal relationship with Jesus, watch out! You may have just entered the treacherous realm of religion, rather than true Christianity.
One cannot choose to live a "good," church-going life and then expect to have obtained salvation as a result.
It won't work! That's not the Gospel.
Religion can give you a false sense of security, and this distinction is not being taught in modern churches.
Today, the sermon, the church service, the atmosphere, the music, etc.
are all being changed to cater to the unsaved.
But, the New Testament Church preached the Word with the Anointing and Power of the Holy Spirit! Men were Saved as they were drawn by the Spirit of God, and then they came into the church of their own accord to fellowship with other brethren and to worship God.
They did not come to church due to persuasive sales techniques or "feel-good" speeches.
It was rather the true unity of the Spirit which the new converts desired, and this was the reason they came into the church.
THE APOSTLE'S DOCTRINE The Apostles did not necessarily worry about "how-to" bring more people into church or how to make the church appealing to the world.
In fact, they knew it would be unattractive to the sinner until he was Saved.
If the unsaved enjoy going to your church, it is a sure sign something is wrong! There must not be any conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Are you beginning to see now just how far off-track the Purpose Driven Life and the seeker-sensitive churches really are? Acts 2:42 says, "And they continued stedfastly in the Apostles' Doctrine (that Doctrine is found in Verse 38) and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers (simply meant it was a praying Church).
" It says they continued in the Apostles' Doctrine.
Verse 38 goes on to tell us what that Doctrine is: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent (admit that God is right, and we are wrong), and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the Remission of sins and you shall receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
" True Repentance is the only guarantee of Salvation.
BORN-AGAIN I can still remember as a young girl attending church and feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
I can remember the strong pulling of the Holy Spirit to give my heart to Christ.
I can still remember the release I felt when I finally surrendered my heart to His Call, the relief I felt as I repented of my sins, and the joy I felt as I was cleansed and made whole by the Spirit.
Even though I did not know exactly what all had happened, I knew that a tremendous change had taken place within my heart and life.
My entire direction for living had changed, and the things of God and my pleasing Him instantly became very important to me.
I knew I was Saved.
TRUE REPENTANCE In his 2008 Christmas message on Fox News, Rick Warren markedly trivialized the Lord's great Plan of Salvation.
He made this statement: "I'm not going to do what I want to do.
I'm going to do what you want me to.
I'm going to go with your plan.
I'm going to stop being self-centered and be God centered, there is a word for this - repent.
The Greek word is 'metanoia' which means change your mind, change what you think, change the way I think about God, the way I think about life.
About my sins, about other people, it changes everything - it's saying God I'm going to think about the way - actually the Bible uses this more often to mean to change your mind about Jesus Christ, to go from not believing to believing in Him, to change your direction and follow Him.
" But, Repentance is so much more than a change of mind, so much more than an intellectual decision! People change their minds every day, but it doesn't automatically mean Spiritual Repentance has occurred.
While "metanoia" does mean "change the mind" as Warren stated, theologically-speaking it involves regret and/or sorrow, accompanied by a true change of heart toward God.
It is a Spiritual Change of heart, not a mere mental change.
SALVATION IS NOT A PROCESS "For with the heart man believes unto Righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation.
For the Scripture says, Whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed.
How then shall they call on Him in Whom they have not believed?" (Rom.
10:10-11; 14).
A person must believe in Christ, not just agree to follow Him as a new philosophy of life and start going to a local church.
You must personally believe (know in your heart) that the Gospel is True.
"And saying, The time is fulfilled (as predicted by the Prophets, Christ has now come), and the Kingdom of God is at hand (is available): repent you, and believe the Gospel ('repent and believe' may be regarded as a summary of the method of Salvation.
This means that Repentance and Faith are the conditions of admission into this Kingdom, i.
e.
, 'the New Covenant')" (Mk.
1:15).
Furthermore, in Rick Warren's Ministry Tool Box, the January 18, 2006 article (Issue #242) was written by Dennis Baril.
The article was entitled, "How to balance the Biblical purposes in a Charismatic/Pentecostal Church.
" Under "Create a safe place for people to begin their journey," it says: "One of the most important truths we've learned is that in the times we live in, coming to Christ is a process that unfolds - it's not usually a singular event.
" This is exactly what the Catholic Church teaches concerning Salvation, a life of works without ever really knowing we're Saved until we die.
No, Salvation is not a process, but an instant realization and reception of the Grace which flows from Calvary.
You do have to wonder about your eternity.
FAITH Faith and Faith alone produces Salvation.
In Luke 5:20 Jesus said, "And when He saw their Faith (true Faith always has action), He said unto him, Man, your sins are forgiven you (indicates that the wretched physical condition of the sick man was due to his sinful life; yet, Jesus treated him with the utmost of kindness).
" The man with palsy was Saved instantly by his Faith in Jesus Christ as well.
Listen to the Plan of Salvation again in Acts 16:31, "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be Saved(presents the most beautiful explanation of Salvation that could ever be given), and your house (means that Salvation is not limited merely to the jailer, but is available to the entirety of his family as well, that is if they will meet the conditions of Faith in Christ required of them).
" Paul was converted instantly as well.
Acts 9:6 states, "And he trembling and astonished said (he was stupefied and astounded), Lord, what will You have me to do? (This constitutes the moment that Paul was Saved.
) And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told you what you must do (pertains to the Plan of God for Paul, which, in effect, would change the world).
" To get a picture of the true Message of Salvation, please read the Book of Acts.
Read of the fearless preaching of the Apostles and others who were called of God.
Then, you will see the model for the true Church and the method by which the lost are to be reached.
It's God's Plan, not man's.
RELIGIOUS BUT LOST Today, the lost are being brought into the church without Salvation.
As we already warned, this will only make people religious slaves.
If you have the Expositor's Study Bible, it will help bring the Book of Acts alive to you.
Read Stephen's sermon preached in the Synagogue of the Libertines.
You will find that Stephen's sermon was so powerful (Acts 7:54) people could not contain their anger over his boldness and his message.
You will also find that Saul was standing by looking on.
He could not forget Stephen's message and death although he did not accept it at the time.
Acts 7:59-60, "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God (presents a monstrous offense on the part of his murderers; we must remember, he was murdered by the religious leaders of Israel), and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit (presents Stephen rendering Divine Worship to Jesus Christ in the most sublime form, and in the most solemn moment of his life).
" Verse 60 says, "And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge (presents him dying on his knees, without malice toward his murderers).
And when he had said this, he fell asleep (portrays the body falling asleep, while his soul and spirit instantly went to be with Jesus; due to what Jesus did at the Cross; death is now looked at as merely going to sleep).
" The power of Stephen's testimony stayed with Paul until we read in Acts, Chapter 9 of his own wonderful and glorious conversion.
Paul, too, began to preach immediately without fear or favor! Paul brought the message of the New Covenant to the Church, never once looking back.
You see, God did not send these men, fresh from being filled with the Power of the Holy Spirit, to go and partner with the pagans.
He sent them to preach the Gospel of Christ unto Salvation.
They were willing to suffer great persecution and death if need be.
Thousands were drawn into the Church by the Spirit of God.
The Church of Jesus Christ would not be here today had the early church used modern-day methods for reaching the world.
It took anointed men, touched by God and willing to place their lives on the line, to boldly stand and preach Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.
This method was given by God, and it is the method He still has for us today.
God's Methods have not changed.
And neither has God's Message changed.
Man's needs are still the same, so the Message needed to meet his needs are still the same.
Only Jesus Christ can fill the void of the human heart.
Frances Swaggart MAN'S PURPOSE PART IV From Old Testament times to the New, God is always found speaking to His most cherished Creation, man.
He spoke in the Old Testament days, He spoke while Jesus was on Earth, and He continued speaking to the New Testament Church.
And, as part of the New Testament Church, God still speaks to Believers today! In fact, God's primary Work upon the Earth is the utterance of His Word.
We must not fail to recognize the place of God's Word in His Work.
The Lord's Work is filled with His Word.
If the Word of God is taken away, almost nothing will be left of His Work! No Word, no Work! "Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against You" (Ps.
119:11).
Any study of Scripture will soon reveal that the Lord operates through His Word.
Even in Christ, we see the connection between the Word and the Work.
Jesus was called "Emmanuel," meaning "God with us" (Isa.
7:14; Mat.
1:23).
Jesus was the Word "made flesh," and He performed the Works of God! (Jn.
1:14).
THE WORD OF GOD How does God speak His Word? - through a very special and quite remarkable method! His Word is spoken through the mouth of man.
In the Old Testament, God's Word was spoken by the Prophets.
During Jesus' earthly pilgrimage, God's Word was with us in the flesh.
And, in the New Testament, God's Word was preached by the Apostles.
Today, not only do we have the Word in written form (the Bible), we also have ministers who are called by God to boldly proclaim and "rightly divide" this Word of Truth (II Tim.
2:15).
The spiritual condition of the minister, therefore, is of utmost importance because God has employed no other method for the deliverance of His Word.
The Lord must have a specially prepared class of men.
He needs men who have yielded their hearts to Him to such a degree that they will speak only what the Lord tells them to speak, men whose mouths will not contradict God's Word! "Then the LORD put forth His Hand, and touched my mouth.
And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put My Words in your mouth" (Jer.
1:9).
Although it might sound like a simple task to find men willing to speak only the things of God, it actually is not! Due to our fallen state, humans naturally tend to tack on our own thoughts and feelings.
It is one-in-a-million who has learned to place the Voice of God above his own! THE METHOD OF THE WORD Old Testament Prophets were chosen by God to speak according to revelations directly received from Him.
Yes, God was using a person, but there was little, if any, human element involved.
The Holy Spirit maintained control of the Prophet's words so that the Word of God would remain pure.
Man added nothing, no opinion or meditation of his own.
In fact, if the accuracy rate of an Old Testament prophet was not 100%, Israel was not to consider that man a Prophet at all! (Deut.
18:22).
Let's look at another case.
In the Twenty-second Chapter of Numbers we find Balaam, a backslidden prophet.
Having once been a True Messenger of God, the prophecies Balaam spoke used to come to pass.
When Balak, an enemy of God, heard of Balaam's reputation, he attempted to use Balaam's Calling to curse Israel.
He thought all he had to do was to bribe Balaam to speak against Israel, but what Balak did not understand was that since Balaam had not received this particular word from God in the first place, he could not have cursed Israel even if he tried.
The power of the Prophecy was always in God's Word, not the Prophet himself! JESUS, THE LIVING WORD As previously mentioned, the very Person of Christ is the Word of God.
All that Jesus said and did were manifestations of the Word.
Therefore, Jesus' Ministry was the Ministry of God's Word.
Notice that the way God's Word was spread through Jesus was completely different from the way God's Word was spread through the Old Testament Prophets.
In utilizing the Prophets, God's Word came upon a man, but the Word and the man were two entirely separate entities.
Even John the Baptist, the last of the Prophets, was but a "voice" in the wilderness.
While it is true that Christ became a man, God's Word was untainted by Him because He was the only Man to have ever lived completely without sin.
Therefore, a New Testament Minister today has a great responsibility to subdue his own sin nature so that the pure Word will not be affected.
All of humanity's problems, in fact, rest upon the shoulders of ministers because it is only the pure Word which can set men free.
So, while it is a great privilege to be a minister, it is also a great burden.
When a man is wrong, all which emanates from him will likewise be wrong.
Any defect will defile the Word and destroy its power, thus crippling the flock of God as well.
Therefore, the Faith of the minister must rest in the Cross for his flaws to be covered! PREACHING Actually, only those who have been specifically Called by God should be preaching to begin with.
Preaching is not a career choice, and it is not the simple task we often tend to regard it as today.
It cannot be taught.
Preaching was God's Design to serve His Word to His People.
Rivers of Living Water flow when a God-called Minister and the Word work in unison.
When this occurs, we sense what we call the "Anointing" of the Lord, which is essentially the Power and Presence of the Holy Spirit.
You see, preaching was designed to be a Living organism, a supernatural demonstration of the Living God through His Servant.
But, if the Minister is not yielded to the Word, both in his personal life and in his Calling, the Holy Spirit does not have the freedom He needs to flow through the Minister.
The people are left hungry and weak because they have not been ministered to by God, but by a mere man.
Without the Anointing, Life is not ministered, ".
.
.
the yoke shall be destroyed because of the Anointing" (Isa.
10:27).
APOSTASY In even worse cases, man sometimes blends his own philosophies with the Word, and when he does, he defies the Word entirely! Let it be known that the Word cannot be enhanced! If you try, the poison you dispense will bring death rather than Life.
God's Light (which is the Word) actually disappears when it is discharged through the mouths of such unfaithful servants.
Also, when you change God's Word, you will change the spirit which emanates from you! You will no longer have the Anointing of the Holy Spirit, but other evil, seducing spirits may gain the opportunity to operate through you.
Ministers beware, lest you become a minister of Satan rather than the Lord.
Let's look at the overall state of the church.
If all the messages being preached on Earth today were truly a ministry of the Word, we would see a Church rich in the Spirit and knowledge of the Lord.
Unfortunately, what we discover most is apostasy.
This means men, not called of God, are simply speaking their own words (not preaching).
To a great degree, the True Word is altogether absent from today's pulpit.
NO ADDITION OR DELETION The Bible clearly addressed the practice of "adding to" and/or "taking away from" His Word, yet we find man fearlessly doing this very thing despite the warnings: "For I testify unto every man who hears the words of the Prophecy of this Book (proclaims the inerrancy of the Book of Revelation; in other words, John testifies that it is the Word of God), If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this Book (proclaims the fact that changing the meaning of the Prophecies in this Book can bring upon one the Judgment of God): And if any man shall take away from the words of the Book of this Prophecy (the idea is that the 'words of the Prophecy' should not be changed in any manner, whether by addition or deletion), God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the Holy City, and from the things which are written in this Book.
(This is a warning given to Believers, and should be understood accordingly!)" (Rev.
22:18-19).
PERVERTING THE WORD "Preachers" today seem to have no problem misquoting and misinterpreting Scripture.
It comes with ease as they fashion particular passages to accommodate their own agendas and false teachings.
A particular case in point, in one of his TV messages, Joel Osteen quotes Hebrews, Chapter 12 as saying, "Stop dwelling on everything that's wrong with you and taking inventory of what you're not.
" In other words, just ignore your shortcomings, and keep thinking positive.
But that is not really what Hebrews 12:1-2 says to do.
Let's examine the entire Scripture, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses (refers to the Old Testament Saints who looked forward to the coming Promise, Who is the Lord Jesus Christ, and what He would do at the Cross to Redeem mankind), let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us (we can do this only as we understand that all things come to us through the Cross, and that the Cross must ever be the Object of our Faith, which then gives the Holy Spirit latitude to work within our lives), and let us run with patience the race that is set before us(the only 'weight' God will allow in the running of this race is our taking up and bearing the Cross, and doing so constantly [Lk.
9:23-24]), Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith (Jesus will carry us through till the end, for this is what the word 'Finisher' means, providing we keep our eyes on Him and what He did at the Cross; He is the Source, while the Cross is the means); Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame(but the Cross was necessary, that is if man was to be redeemed), and is set down at the Right Hand of the Throne of God.
(Him being 'set down' refers to His Work at the Cross being a 'Finished Work,' and the fact that He is set down at the 'Throne of God' means God has fully accepted His Sacrifice)" (Heb.
12:1-2).
This Scripture is telling Believers to do something about their sins, not to ignore them.
This passage is saying that if Believers will look to Jesus instead of to their own willpower to find freedom from their sins, they will be able to finish the race victoriously, something you will never hear preached in Osteen's church.
SIN! Modern believers are trying live a Christian life by a "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" mentality! It's almost become more of a sin to point out evil than it is to be evil.
Such thinking originally came from a Buddhist proverb, having the idea that if we do not hear, see, or talk about evil; we shall also be spared of all evil.
Nothing could be farther from the teachings of Scripture! The Bible tells us that if we do not see our own evil, we cannot be Saved! If we do not discern evil, we will end up calling evil, good! (Isa.
5:20).
If we do not speak out regarding the things which are evil, we deny Christ! You see, Christianity deals with evil openly because Jesus, our Lord, defeated it at Calvary! True Christians do not fear evil, and they do not deny it as those of other faiths and persuasions.
The Bible also instructs Believers not to even give the "appearance of evil" (I Thess.
5:22).
Rather, Christians withstand and defeat evil through the Power of the Cross! We live a miraculous Faith! MISQUOTE! Another Scripture that Osteen and others in the "Word of Faith" misquote is Romans 4:17.
They say this Scripture tells Believers to "call the things that are not as if they already were.
" In other words, just tell God when you want something changed.
Again, that is not what the Scripture says.
Let's read what it does say, "As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations [Gen.
12:1-3; 17:4-5], before Him Whom he believed, even God (refers to Abraham believing God), who quickens the dead (makes spiritually alive those who are spiritually dead), and calls those things which be not as though they were (if God has said it to us personally, we can call it; otherwise, it is presumption)" (Rom.
4:17).
Here, it is plain for anyone to read and comprehend that this passage is speaking of God, that it is God Who gives Life to the dead and "calls those things which be not as though they were.
" We, as mere mortals, do not have the same creative Power as the Lord.
We are only to believe and trust in the things which He has already spoken.
The whole of Christianity is about trusting God's Word, rather than our own words, thoughts, plans, etc.
And, rather than vainly trying to control God's Works through our words, it's about allowing His Word to Work in us! Frances Swaggart